


wedding flowers

by sylvansalvia



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mostly Fluff, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:33:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24373585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylvansalvia/pseuds/sylvansalvia
Summary: Scorpia isn't the type to be jealous. No, seriously, she isn't. It's totally great that Catra and Adora are getting married. They look so happy, and Scorpia is so happy for them. So why does Perfuma keep saying she senses some kind of negative energy? And where do all these roses keep coming from?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), past unrequited catra/perfuma
Comments: 16
Kudos: 143
Collections: Scorfuma RIghts





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re not wearing shoes to your own wedding? That’s, like, cool, I guess.”

  
Catra folded her arms carefully over her red velvet suit. “Don’t judge me, sewer girl. Bow wore a crop top to _his_ wedding.”

  
“It was a crop button down shirt,” Bow said with dignity.

  
“Those totally aren’t a thing,” Mermista said. “You can’t make those a thing. Also, I take offense to that nickname.”

  
“I’m— I’m sorry.” The words still sounded strange in her voice. She paced around the room, tail lashing back and forth behind her. “Do— do you think I should wear shoes? Maybe I should wear shoes.”

  
“Aww, she’s just nervous!” Scorpia said.

  
Catra whipped around. Her tail knocked a flower out of the vase behind her. “I am not nervous!”

  
“It’s okay to be nervous,” Bow said. “It’s a really important day, after all.”

  
“I said I’m not nervous! You. Water princess. You know things about fashion. Should I wear shoes?”

  
“It’s your wedding,” Mermista said. “Besides, since when do you care about my opinion?”

  
“I don’t! It’s just, I need today to be good enough for her. I need to be good enough for her. After everything I’ve done—”

  
Bow swept her up into a hug. She hissed as her feet left the carpet, then slowly rested her chin on his bicep.

“You are more than good enough,” he said. “What would Adora say if she heard you saying things like that?”

  
“That she loves me,” Catra mumbled into his arm.

  
“That’s right. And we love you too! We’re your best friends.”

  
“Best friends squad?” Catra said weakly.

  
“Best friends squad,” Bow said.

  
“Okay. Thank you. Put me down. Never speak of this to anyone.”

  
Bow slowly lowered Catra to the ground. She sighed, then brushed the wrinkles out of her suit and adjusted her ink-colored tie. Then she smiled.

  
Scorpia was still getting used to Catra’s new smile. In the Fright Zone, her smile had been laced with cruelty, a smile that darkened the room. Here, in this bright golden room, where sunlight streamed through the arched windows, Catra’s smile was different. It wrinkled the edges of her multicolored eyes and softened all the sharp edges of her face. It was a smile that seemed to say, can you believe how lucky I am? It was even brighter than the way she had smiled in the Crimson Waste.

  
Scorpia’s own smile faltered in response like a flickering lightbulb.

  
Catra pulled at her lapels and took a deep breath. “Okay. No more dumb insecurity. I’m ready.”

* * *

The actual ceremony wasn’t for a few more hours, so Scorpia wandered through the castle, looking at the decorations. Every corner of the castle was bursting with flowers, as if the building itself was blooming. She paused to look at a bundle of vivid multicolored roses. Each blossom was delicate and complex, with dewdrops scattered like diamonds across the velvety petals.

  
She picked one up. Its petals were indescribably soft, like the cool brush of someone’s fingertips.

  
“I’m feeling a little negative energy,” someone said. “Are you okay, Scorpia?”

  
“Wah!” Scorpia’s pincers sliced right through the stem of the rose, and the blossom toppled to the floor, scattering rainbow-streaked petals. “Perfuma! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there, and now your flower—”

  
Perfuma bent down and picked the rose up. New petals unfolded under her fingertips, fluttering slightly. Scorpia would never get tired of watching Perfuma’s powers. Every flower was an intricate masterpiece, a tiny, beautiful storm of color and fragrance and light.

  
The petals of the rose darkened as if someone was painting them with watercolors and an invisible brush. Each petal blushed to a deep crimson and reached towards the light.

  
“It’s beautiful,” Scorpia said.

“For you,” Perfuma said. “To cheer you up.”

  
Scorpia realized just then that the color matched her eyeshadow. She tucked the rose behind her ear. The petals brushed gently across her cheek. Scorpia’s usual wide smile spread across her face. She twirled, feeling her black silk dress follow her footsteps, and lifted her pincers.

  
“How do I look?” she said.

  
“Beautiful,” Perfuma said. “You always look beautiful.”

  
Scorpia opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her chest felt like a kaleidoscope of tumbling colors, and she felt herself caught between saying _really?_ and _you don’t mean it_ and _dance with me,_ even though that was ridiculous because there was no music and they were just standing in the hallway. The hallway was full of light, reflecting off glittering crystals which cast bright spots on the stone ceiling. Everything glowed.

  
Recently, Scorpia had discovered a secret. Perfuma’s perfume was always something delicate and floral, but it was always subtly different. Every day, the scent of a different flower floated almost imperceptibly in her wake. Lilac, lavender. You could only tell if you were close enough to count the freckles that dotted her shoulders like stars. Honeysuckle, Scorpia thought, as Perfuma leaned closer. Something sweet.

  
She hadn’t even known the names of any flowers back in the Fright Zone. Roses, violets. Perfuma said they formed a secret language, a cipher that could be unfolded petal by petal.

  
Perfuma seemed to realize how close they were. She stepped back with a little nervous laugh and clapped her hands.

  
“So! Did I cheer you up?”

  
“Yeah.” Scorpia grinned. “Thanks, Perfuma.”

  
“Of course! It looked like you needed a little positive energy.” Perfuma brushed a curl of blond hair back behind her ear. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  
“I— I do, actually. Thanks. You’re a good friend.”

  
Perfuma beamed. She placed her hand in one of Scorpia’s pincers and tugged.

  
“Where are you taking me?” Scorpia said.

  
“A good place. You need some positive energy.”

  
Perfuma led her up a winding spiral staircase. She had never seen this part of the castle before. The walls were slightly weathered by the wind, and the smell of grass blew in from the fields. Scorpia felt Perfuma’s rose flutter like a butterfly’s wings in the breeze.

  
Perfuma finally let go of Scorpia’s pincer and pushed open a stained glass window. She turned back. The window was iridescent like a dragonfly’s wing as light filtered through it and made a halo of the edges of her hair.

  
“Are you ready?” she said.

  
“I think I am— whoa!”

  
Perfuma took one of Scorpia’s pincers in both of her hands and pulled her through the window and out onto the roof. Scorpia stumbled onto the slanted tiles, then looked up and gasped.

  
“Wow, it’s gorgeous out here! This is amazing! But isn’t it dangerous? What happens if someone falls?”

  
“If you fall, I’ll catch you, and if I fall, you’ll catch me. Right?”

  
“I mean, I’ll try! I’ll try my best, but I don’t have plant powers, and lightning isn’t exactly suited to catching people.”

  
Perfuma chuckled, then patted the patch of roof next to her. “Come on. What’s bothering you?”

  
Scorpia sat, feeling warmth from the sun-heated tiles seep into her pincers. “It’s just, they look so happy. Catra looks so happy. And I’m happy for them! I really am. I can’t be jealous of Adora anymore, Adora’s the nicest person ever, and she deserves all of this and so much more. But—”

  
“It’s okay to want something for yourself, you know,” Perfuma said. “You don’t have to be perfectly selfless all the time.”

  
“I know.” Scorpia sighed. “I really loved her.”

* * *

  
“Why do you like her, Force Captain Scorpia?”

  
Scorpia blinked. The question came totally out of the blue, from behind the mirrored green visor of a Horde soldier’s helmet. It sounded like it had been something he had wanted to ask for a while. Only now, with the two of them stuck in the back of a rattling transport, had he managed to force the question out of his mouth. He took his helmet off. He was one of the cadets Catra had grown up with. She remembered Catra introducing them: the big lizardy one was Rogelio, the annoying-but-competent-ish one was Lonnie, and the useless mediocre one was Kyle, apparently. This cadet wasn’t big or lizardy, and she had seen him trip over nothing and fall flat on his face on his way into the transport, so she figured he must be Kyle.

  
“What do you mean, Kyle?” she said, slapping him on the back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  
“Catra,” Kyle wheezed. “Why do you like her? She’s mean to you. She’s mean to everyone.”

  
“She’s not that mean,” Scorpia said.

  
Kyle gave her an incredulous look.

  
“Okay, she’s sort of mean. But lots of people are sort of mean here.”

  
“You’re not,” Kyle said. “You’re a good person. You’re one of the only people here who actually takes me seriously.”

  
“Aww, you’re making me blush. Thanks. You’re a good person too.”

  
The transport rattled along the road. The sickly green lights flickered slightly, giving Kyle’s face a ghostly cast. He still managed to look like a startled rabbit.

  
“I mean it,” he said eventually. “What do you see in her?”

  
Scorpia thought about it. She saw Catra’s sharp-edged helmet, her dangerous laugh, her wide grin of approval. The way her mismatched eyes sparkled mischievously under the fluorescent lights. The way her hair fell freely across her shoulders.

  
“She’s determined and resilient,” she said at last. “I really admire that about her. She’s strong and brave, and even if she isn’t always the nicest person, she’s going through a lot. She’s been through a lot.”

  
“We’ve all been through a lot,” Kyle said.

  
“I know,” Scorpia said. “But I know she could be a kinder person if she tried. There’s still good in her. She can change.”

  
Kyle shivered. “I don’t know why you’re not afraid of her.”

  
“She would never hurt me.”

  
He rubbed his forearm. There was a thin white scratch scored down the length of his armor. It glowed green in the strange light. Then he lifted his eyes. Lonnie and Rogelio were driving the transport in silence, keeping their eyes on the weeds that lit up yellow under the headlights.

  
“I’m sorry, Scorpia, but I don’t think she’ll ever love you back. In some twisted way, she’s already in love with—”

  
Scorpia gave him a friendly punch. He shrieked, slid across the bench, and hit the wall of the transport. Then he rubbed his arm and looked at her with wide, startled eyes.

  
“In love? What? Me? No. Me and Catra? No way. I just want to be her friend! Sure, we have a special connection, but it’s like a best friend soulmate connection, not a _soulmate_ soulmate connection. You’re way off base, Miles.”

  
“Kyle,” Kyle said.

  
“That’s what I said! I’m not nervous. Why would I be nervous? Let’s just focus on getting these goods back to the base.”

  
Kyle picked his helmet up again, keeping a careful eye on her pincers. He fitted it carefully over his head and resumed staring straight ahead in silence. In the driver’s seat, Lonnie shook her head.

* * *

“It took me a really long time to realize it,” Scorpia said. “But I really did love her.”  
“You deserved better,” Perfuma said.

* * *

“You deserve better,” Kyle said. He was sweating. It looked like it took every last ounce of his courage to say those words.

  
Scorpia frowned. She remembered the exact moment when she realized the truth.

  
Catra was having a bad dream. She thrashed around in her sleep while Scorpia hovered on the threshold of the door to her room. A low growl escaped from her throat, and something in Scorpia’s chest burned.

  
She should go comfort her. That’s what friends did, right? She wanted to go and kiss Catra’s forehead, brush her soft hair back from her cheeks, and tell her that everything would be alright. Even if Entrapta wasn’t there, Scorpia was. Scorpia would always be there for her. She wanted to brush her claw against Catra’s lips, lean in, and—

  
Kyle had been right.

  
“Maybe I do have a crush on Catra,” she told him, and that’s when Kyle said it.

  
Those three words sounded awful, but they resonated somehow.

  
“I… deserve better?” she said.

  
Kyle nodded emphatically. “You deserve someone who’s kind to you. Someone who believes in you more than you believe in yourself. Someone who, I don’t know, who patches you up when you get hurt and gets you flowers and saves up all the gray rations so they can give you a secret candlelit dinner under those stairs in the eastern sector.”

  
“That’s kinda specific, buddy.”

  
“Uh— I mean—” Kyle was slowly turning bright red. “What I mean is, you need someone who treats you well. Someone who obviously cares about you. A good person.”

  
Scorpia sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Ever since Entrapta… well… things have gotten complicated. I don’t know who’s a good person anymore.”

  
Kyle rummaged around in his pocket and produced a neatly wrapped ration bar. “Here. Take it. It’s one of the brown ones, which aren’t as good as the gray ones, but—”

  
“True,” Scorpia said.

  
“But at least it’s something,” Kyle said. “Let’s talk about something else. Something happier. Okay?”

  
“Okay.”

* * *

Scorpia touched the flower resting behind her ear. “I guess I did deserve better.”

  
“Absolutely!” Perfuma snapped her fingers, and a ring of delicate claret flowers appeared around Scorpia’s neck. “You deserve the best person in the world!”

  
“I can’t believe it took me so long to realize I liked her,” Scorpia said. “I thought I just wanted to be friends. Turns out I didn’t really know what friends were.”

  
“It must have been hard to realize that you liked her and that she didn’t treat you very well in practically the same moment,” Perfuma said.

  
“Yeah. Well, it’s over now. I left.”

  
The wind tugged at the blossoms trailing from Scorpia’s neck. She lifted a claw and held them in place, directly over her heart. The breeze brushing past her face made the tension slowly drop out of her shoulders, and the view was dazzling. Perfuma was right. This place definitely had positive energy.

  
Far below, Catra dashed across the courtyard in her beautiful red suit. Her laugh drifted up with the wind. There wasn’t a trace of mockery in it.

  
“The thing that really bothers me is that I was right,” Scorpia said. “She could change. She did change. She just couldn’t change for me.”

  
Perfuma reached over and placed a hand on top of Scorpia’s pincer.

  
“I’m happy that she’s happy. But why couldn’t she be happy with me? Sorry. I know it’s stupid.”

  
“It’s not stupid,” Perfuma said. “It’s okay to feel like that. Even you can’t stay positive all the time.”

  
Scorpia sniffled.

  
“Do you want a hug?”

  
“Do I ever!”

  
Perfuma held out her arms. Scorpia fell forward and buried her face in Perfuma’s cloudlike hair. Distantly, she smelled the light sweetness of honeysuckle blossoms.

  
“I am going to have a good time at this wedding,” Scorpia said, slightly muffled by Perfuma’s green sweater. “No matter what. It’s a party for two of my favorite people. I love Catra and Adora, and I love parties. Piece of cake!”

  
“That’s the spirit!” Perfuma hugged her tighter. “And if you’re still feeling down, you can always talk to me.”

  
Scorpia pulled back. Perfuma was smiling at her. Her smile made her look radiant, with her bright black eyes and her waves of wheat-colored hair. And those freckles. Looking at Perfuma made the whole world warmer and brighter.

  
She was a good person, and she brought Scorpia flowers. Maybe it really was that simple.

  
Scorpia always had trouble distinguishing romantic feelings from platonic ones. This time, though, she was sure. She had never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as she wanted to kiss Perfuma, now, in this sunlit moment.

  
Instead, she stood up and took a step backwards.

“Thanks for everything, Perfuma,” she said. “You’re a really good friend.”

  
“Scorpia—”

  
Scorpia took another step backwards as Perfuma reached out, then another. Her foot landed on empty air.

  
“Scorpia, watch out!”

  
Scorpia toppled backwards off the roof with a yelp. Perfuma darted forward and grabbed both her pincers. Vines snaked out from nowhere and wrapped around Scorpia’s forearms. She stumbled back to safety, acutely aware of Perfuma’s hands supporting her elbows.

  
“Whew!” she said. “That was a close one, wasn’t it?”

  
“It was. I said I’d catch you, though, didn’t I?” Perfuma darted forward to give Scorpia a quick hug, as if making sure she was still there, and then darted back just as quickly. “Don’t do that again, okay?”

  
“Okay,” Scorpia said softly.

  
Perfuma bit her lip and hesitated.

  
“Hey!” someone shouted from the courtyard. “Perfuma, is that you?”

  
They both jumped. Far below, Mermista was squinting up at them, shading her eyes with her hand.

  
“Perfuma, we need you for the flowers in the main ballroom. What are you doing up there?”

  
“I’m coming! I was just—” She met Scorpia’s eyes. “I was just taking care of someone important.”

  
Scorpia smiled.

  
“What did you say? Ugh, whatever. Just get down here. It’s, like, urgent.”

  
“I’m coming!” Perfuma said again.

  
She tugged the window back open, then ran back to Scorpia in a cloud of trailing green and pink fabric. Time froze for an instant as she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Scorpia’s cheek.

  
“Sorry! I have to go. I’ll see you later, right?”

  
Scorpia stood open-mouthed for a second, then said, “Later! Yes! Absolutely.”

  
“Great!”

  
Perfuma stepped back in through the window and dashed off down the stairs. Scorpia stood on the roof, staring at the place where she had been.

  
A petal fluttered away from the red rose behind her ear and sailed towards the courtyard. Slowly, Scorpia raised a pincer to her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

Peonies were difficult. Their blossoms were complex, with petal after petal layered like folds of pale pink chiffon. Still, Perfuma loved watching them burst from their pearl-shaped buds into a cloud of color. She tucked the last one into the bouquet— for the table for the afterparty, apparently— where its thin petals fluttered gently. It was the color of a sunset, with delicate shades of pink fading into tangerine at its ruffled edges.

“Can I help?” Adora said suddenly behind her.

Perfuma jumped. “You mean, with the flowers? Um—”

Glimmer appeared in a shower of fuchsia sparks. “Adora! What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to help! It feels so weird to just sit there while everyone is working so hard—”

“It’s your wedding, you’re allowed to just sit back and relax! Besides, not everyone’s working hard. Catra’s been napping in the sun ever since she got her suit—”

“It’s so cute that she does that,” Adora sighed.

“—and I swear I just saw Scorpia raiding the table of snacks that the caterers brought.”

Perfuma’s heart jumped a little at the mention of Scorpia. She hid her face in her flowers, hoping the pink light reflecting off their vivid petals would hide her blush. It was stupid, really, but just hearing Scorpia’s name made her heart beat faster in a way that had long since become familiar.

“Oh, you mean those guys from Entrapta’s castle?” Adora said.

“Yeah, them.”

“Maybe I can help them set up!”

“Adora—”

They both disappeared in a flash of light. Small sparkles floated in the air behind them, slowly fading like sparks from a fire. Perfuma absent-mindedly brushed one off the bright porcelain surface of a white lily. It blinked at her in response.

As love stories went, hers was nothing special. She admired Scorpia as a friend until suddenly she admired Scorpia as more than a friend. They met when Scorpia was still technically a prisoner, and their actions were softened by a sort of mutual kindness, which shifted into friendship, which— as Scorpia’s natural enthusiasm and irrepressible personality blossomed— turned into something else. Perfuma fell naturally into the long, slow process of being in love with a close friend.

It wasn’t like she thought of Scorpia constantly or anything like that. Still, her heart skipped a beat whenever she came up in conversation, and occasionally, before she fell asleep, her mind would conjure an image of Scorpia’s bright smile and starlight hair. Sometimes, when she talked to Scorpia, Perfuma felt a hollow space in her chest glow so brightly that it ached. Her life became a paradox. It was so hard to spend time with Scorpia like this, but spending time with Scorpia still made her so happy.

Suddenly, Glimmer appeared again in a burst of glitter. “Perfuma! Are you done with the decorations?”

Perfuma raised her hand like she was conducting an orchestra. A garland wrapped itself across a butter-colored stone column.

“I am now,” she said.

“Great! All sorts of guests are arriving. It’s turning into a real party already. You should go say hi to everyone!”

* * *

Usually, Perfuma was great at parties. She was a gracious host who drifted effortlessly from conversation to conversation. She was perfectly at home under garlands of flowers and amidst cheerful laughter. Here, though, she was out of her element. She was tired from arranging so many flowers. Her fingertips felt heavy from performing so much magic, and there were tiny pinpricks in her skin from dealing with the thorns.

Scorpia was nowhere to be seen, and Perfuma was tired of scanning the crowd for her when she probably wasn’t even--

“Hey, babe,” Scorpia said.

Perfuma yelped and whirled around. Someone who looked exactly like Scorpia was standing behind her. It wasn’t Scorpia, though. When they smiled, there was a cruel edge to it that she had never seen on Scorpia’s face before.

“Double Trouble?” she said cautiously.

Not-Scorpia’s form flickered and melted into a sleeker silhouette. Double Trouble scowled.

“What gave it away?” they asked.

“Scorpia’s smiles are nicer. Also, Scorpia and I aren’t dating.”

Pure shock flickered briefly across their face before they replaced it with their characteristic smirk. “Really? Heavens. It seems I made a truly awful miscalculation there. It’s almost as though I’m losing my touch.” They paused. “Almost.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was invited, darling. By Catra, in a stunning display of newfound maturity.”

Perfuma narrowed her eyes at them.

“Believe me or don’t believe me, it’s all the same to me. I want to be here, and that’s all that really matters. Weddings are fascinating, aren’t they? They’re a unique sort of performance.”

“A performance?” Perfuma asked.

“Of course, darling. Think about it. If two people are in love, they don’t really need a ceremony to show that to each other. All this pomp and circumstance is just to show everyone else-- to perform their love in front of an audience. That’s us, in case you didn’t notice. While I’d prefer to be the star of the show, sometimes even I have to let somebody else take the stage.”

“That’s not very romantic,” Perfuma said. “Actually, that sounds really cynical.”

They shrugged. “I’m a shapeshifting being of the world, darling. I’ve seen it all. Anyone who pays attention gets cynical after a while.”

Perfuma drew herself up to her full height. “I strongly disagree.”

“Is that so?” Double Trouble circled her, looking pensive. “You’re an interesting character, Perfuma dear. I just can’t seem to get the hang of you. I don’t get it, not one bit. But still, I live to be challenged. I’d love to try playing you one of these days.”

“I would really prefer if you didn’t,” Perfuma said sweetly, through gritted teeth.

They shrugged. “Suit yourself. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m under strict orders not to cause any problems tonight. I’m even getting paid to make sure this whole shebang goes smoothly.”

“Really? Who’s paying you?”

Double Trouble leaned forward to stage-whisper at her. “Hordak, of all people. Can you believe it?”

Perfuma looked across the room. Hordak was standing in a corner with his strange blue imp creature perched comfortably on his shoulder, deep in conversation with a gilded air vent. Actually, on closer inspection, there were two shining red dots hidden inside the air vent. As she watched, a tendril of purple hair snaked out of the vent and retrieved a fallen screwdriver.

Hordak smiled. His features had softened since they saved the world from Prime. His whole demeanor was quietly happier, with a gentler slope to his shoulders and a softer look to his acid-green eyes.

“He slipped me some cash just as I walked in the door,” Double Trouble informed her. 

“Why?” Perfuma said.

“Love makes you soft, darling.” They patted their pockets, which jingled. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“But—”

“My guess would be that he’s discovered he actually cares about his former wards. Not enough to say so, of course, but enough to make sure their big day goes perfectly.”

Perfuma thought about the look on Hordak’s face after Adora exorcised the last shreds of Prime from his consciousness. His eyes widened, and his scowl melted into a shocked sort of wonder. The tension drained out of him with the last vestiges of Prime’s spirit, and he looked up, into the light. There was a trace of affection in that look— barely perceptible, but still there.

“I believe it,” Perfuma said. “That’s good.”

Double Trouble shrugged. “Would be better if he actually told them about it. Oh, well, as long as I’m getting paid.”

They stretched, then blew her a kiss and walked off. Their heels clicked on the golden marble. Perfuma found herself alone in the crowd again. The crowd shifted. Faces blurred, until it seemed like Perfuma was looking at a single, many-headed entity. Suddenly, though she knew the layout of the castle like the back of her hand, she felt a little lost.

* * *

Three days after Prime’s defeat, Scorpia still looked a little lost. There was a hint of confusion in her inky eyes, in the way she held her pincers close to her chest. It was perfectly understandable. She had just been rescued from Prime’s brainwashing, and before that, the quieter and more insidious lifelong manipulation of Hordak’s horde. 

Even without those specific circumstances, the world had changed so much recently. For one thing, the stars had returned. For the first time in their lives, gold and silver pinpricks scattered across the midnight sky. Every upward glance after sunset was a shock. 

Now that magic had returned to Etheria, the world was even more unfamiliar. It was all so much more alive, so much brighter, so much more colorful. Tiny bursts of light, glowing creatures, flitted under leaves in the woods— spirits, maybe, or very small gods. They were beautiful, but in the distant way that a vast waterfall was beautiful, at least until you got used to them.

Perfuma stood next to Scorpia as they watched rays of sunlight graze the lace edges of clouds and streak across the sky. Even the sky was more vibrant. The sun dyed a coin-shaped portion of sky daffodil gold, a color that reflected in the strands of Scorpia’s silvery hair.

“Hey,” Perfuma said.

“Hey,” Scorpia said, looking back.

Her eyes were bright with wonder, as if seeing Perfuma was somehow more special than taking in the gloriously transformed landscape. There was uncertainty in her gaze. She looked a little stunned. But there was a hesitant, tentative joy there too, which Perfuma found intoxicating.

 _I love you,_ Perfuma thought. By now, the thought was so familiar that it was worn into her mind like grooves etched onto a record. Periodically, or maybe just whenever Scorpia smiled at her, she would sweep back into it with the force of an orchestra’s crescendo.

“Come back to Plumeria with me,” Perfuma’s mouth said, before her mind quite caught up.

Scorpia blinked. “Huh?”

“I mean, if you want,” she said. “You’ve been through a lot lately. We all have. It could be—” Relaxing? Well, probably not for Perfuma. “It could be nice.”

Scorpia’s mouth fell open. Perfuma pictured her standing under the perpetually blooming cherry tree, next to the crystal that held Perfuma’s power. It was so easy to fall into the feeling that she belonged there— under the swirling heart-shaped petals, glowing with the pink light that filtered through the flowers. It was a dangerous train of thought.

“Whoa, really?” Scorpia said. “That sounds great! I’d love to! When do we leave?”

* * *

A few days later, they stood in the center of a grove of swaying trees as the children of Perfuma’s people chased each other around the trunks. The leaves were new and gold-green in the sun, and they paled and brightened as the wind shifted and whispered in them. Plumeria had always been full of life— and with the return of Etheria’s magic, it was even more so.

“Sorry,” Scorpia said suddenly.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I don’t know. I just feel kinda out of place.” Scorpia drew her shoulders in and lashed her tail, trying to look smaller. “Everybody else seems so— I don’t know— pretty and flowery and pastel-y and I’m just—”  
“You belong,” Perfuma said immediately. “Just because you’re not dressed like everyone else—”

“And I’m big,” Scorpia added, clicking her pincers like castanets. “And spiky.”

“Your spikes are cool! And so are your clothes, and so are you. The rest of the princesses think so too.”

“I— thanks. I know that, you know, rationally, but it’s easy to forget. Sorry,” Scorpia said.

“You don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Sor— wait.”

Scorpia laughed at herself, then turned to give Perfuma a slightly sheepish grin. Perfuma couldn’t help but smile too.

They reached a pavilion built among the trees, constructed of rustic chestnut-colored wood. The floor held inlays of lighter birch in the shape of a stylized lotus blossom. Soft pillows in jewel colors were scattered across the floor, and gauzy pink curtains floated in the wind.

Embers glowed in a firepit in front of the pavilion. A terra cotta teapot was suspended above the fire. Soot darkened its coffee-colored glaze.

“Tea?’ Perfuma asked. She held up a small blue mug. “It’s jasmine.”

“What’s that?”

“Did they not have jasmine plants in the Horde?” A thought struck Perfuma. “Did they not have _tea_ in the Horde?”

Scorpia laughed, a little sadly. “They didn’t have anything in the Horde.”

Perfuma poured a cup of tea. Steam misted over the glossy ceramic and rose into the air in thin cloudlike wisps.

“Well, you should try some, then!”

Scorpia accepted the cup. “Is it good?”

“It’s really good.”

“Is it sweet?” Shortly after leaving the Horde, Scorpia had developed a passion for anything and everything sugary.

“Sort of?” Perfuma said.

Scorpia held the cup very carefully in both pincers and lifted it to her lips. Then she stuck her tongue out, evidently having burned it.

“Oh, sorry. I should warn you, it’s hot.”

“That’th okay,” Scorpia said, then stuck her tongue back in her mouth. She grinned, undaunted. “I like it! It tastes like flowers. Not very sweet, though.”

Perfuma leaned back against an emerald cushion. “It’s one of my favorite teas.”

“I can see why!” Scorpia suddenly turned serious. “Hey, Perfuma.”

Perfuma looked up. “Yes?”  
“Thanks for inviting me. I’m so glad that you’re my friend.”

Perfuma’s fingers curled around her mug of tea. She felt the warmth slowly melt into her skin.

 _I’m glad you’re my friend._ Hearing things like that always made Perfuma happy. Hearing it from Scorpia was no exception. She felt a sense of warm brightness diffuse through her chest. It was like the sun suddenly burning through a cloud: an unexpected blaze of happiness.

But still…

 _I’m so glad you’re my friend._ Perfuma knew herself well enough to know that those words weren’t the ones she wanted to hear. She was happy. Scorpia’s gratitude tasted sweet. But still, somewhere, something burned.

The words _I love you_ stuck in Perfuma’s throat. As she watched Scorpia’s eyes follow the tiny gemlike birds that flitted from branch to branch, she made a decision. She was going to say it. She wanted to be honest, and she and Scorpia had grown so close recently. Hadn’t they? Wasn’t there a chance that Scorpia felt the same way?

“I—”  
They both spoke at the same time. One of Scorpia’s pincers shot up to cover her mouth.

“Sorry!” Scorpia said. “You go first.”

Perfuma waved a hand and fished a fallen petal out of her tea. “No, no, you go.”

“Okay. I’m really happy to be here,” Scorpia said. “I don’t think I can stay for very long, though.”

Perfuma’s heart sank. “Really? Why not?”

Scorpia sat up straight. Her face was unusually solemn. When she held herself like this, with a prouder, more confident posture, her features seemed unexpectedly noble, as if she had been transformed into a marble statue of a queen.

“I am the princess of the Fright Zone,” she said. “It’s my duty to go back there. I need to help the land recover from years of being ruled by the Horde.”

“Back to the Fright Zone?”

“That’s right. We’ll rebuild whatever was destroyed during the fighting— whatever needs fixing, we’ll fix. I’ll try to restore my family’s palace.” Scorpia grinned. “And I’ll actually get to meet more of the people that live there. Maybe I can make some new friends!”  
Even now, Scorpia’s enthusiasm was contagious. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“I’m glad you think so! I… well, I haven’t exactly been the greatest princess. I was sort of working for the forces of evil for a while there. This is my chance to make it up to everyone.”

Perfuma smiled. “It’s a really good plan. I know you’ll be amazing.”

“Thanks, Perfuma. I mean it.”

Maybe, Perfuma reflected, Scorpia was close with everyone. She smiled like that at everyone, she laughed like that with everyone. She was that friendly with everyone she knew, and she looked at everyone like that. It was just her personality.

“Whew, it feels good to get those ideas off my chest. Thanks again for hearing me out,” Scorpia said. “What were you going to say?”

“Hm?”

“Just now. What were you going to say?”

“Oh,” Perfuma said. “Nothing. Nothing important.”

“Oh, okay.”

Scorpia left for the Fright Zone a few days after that. For the remainder of her time with Perfuma, those unspoken words pressed heavily on the small silences between them. The air was full of uncertainty, of a certain sort of invisible turbulence, like the sky before a thunderstorm. Even so, Perfuma was desperately sorry to see her go.

* * *

The oppressive atmosphere vanished the next time they saw each other— at the wedding, actually. She had caught Scorpia brooding, which was the sort of behavior which she expected from Catra or Mermista or even Glimmer when things got serious, but not _Scorpia._ The following conversation was a whirlwind of making sure she was okay and cheering her up, because that was just what Perfuma did for her friends. It was what she would always do. It even cheered Perfuma herself up too, because talking to Scorpia almost always made her happier.

Standing in the midst of the party, the sense of distance between what Scorpia said and what Perfuma had wanted her to say swept over her again. She would never get used to the conflicting feelings of being so happy to have someone as a friend and being just the slightest bit miserable about it at the same time. 

“Flower princess,” someone said. The moniker had a derisive note to it, more habitual than actually malicious.

It could only be one person. “Catra, you _know_ my name is Perfuma. I’m really not in the mood for this.”

Catra held up her hands. “Whoa there. I just want to talk.”

Perfuma said nothing, which Catra correctly interpreted as an invitation.

“It’s about Scorpia. This is going to sound really weird, coming from me, but-- well-- here goes nothing.” Catra took a deep breath. “You can’t be mean to Scorpia.”

“What?” Perfuma said.

Catra took a step forward, then stood on her toes so that her intense mismatched eyes were perfectly level with Perfuma’s. “You can’t. Be mean. To Scorpia. Or else I swear I’ll--”

“You’ll what?” Perfuma interrupted. “I thought you were past the point of threatening princesses, seeing that you’re about to marry one.”

“Yeah, well, old habits die hard. I mean it. If you hurt her, there’ll be hell to pay. Because if you try to be mean to her, Scorpia will just let you. She won’t fight back. She won’t stand up for herself. Nothing you do to her will get her to hate you. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience.”

“I know,” Perfuma said darkly.

“She’s getting better and better at speaking up,” Catra continued, “but she’s never been the revenge type. I am, though, and right now I’m letting you know that if you hurt her feelings, I’ll pay you back ten times over. Because she never will. Understand?”

“Scorpia doesn’t need you to fight her battles,” Perfuma said, staring Catra down.

Catra stared right back. “If you don’t do anything _unreasonable,_ I won’t have to.”

“I’m glad you care about her, though,” Perfuma sighed. “Even if you have a weird way of showing it.”

“I’m glad you care about her, too,” Catra mumbled. “She deserves it.”

“What was that last part?”

“Nothing. Go play with your daisies or whatever it is you do.” Then, quieter but much more sincerely, “Thank you for the decorations. They’re beautiful. You’re really good at this.”

“You’re welcome,” Perfuma said, slightly bemused. “Do you threaten all of Scorpia’s friends?”

Catra gave her an equally confused stare. “Of course not. Just you.”

“But--”

For perhaps the billionth time that day, Glimmer appeared.

“Catra!” she said. “You’re not supposed to be in the Great Hall! What are you doing here?”

“Definitely being sociable and not threatening anyone,” Catra said.

“That’s-- you know, I don’t even care. Just get back where you’re supposed to be. I swear, you and Adora really are meant for each other.”

They disappeared in another flash of light. Perfuma found herself alone again.

Distantly, bells rang, signaling the arrival of another group of guests. The wedding was about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: hopefully the flashback part is at least a little clearer now!! in retrospect i can definitely see why that was confusing lol


End file.
